As bicycles become a more popular form of transportation, particularly in the United States, a number of safety devices have been developed to provide the bicycle rider with enhanced visibility. A well-known device for providing such visibility is a flashing light which is generally worn on the cyclist's clothing, or fasten to the bicycle frame. Other devices, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,229 to Modurkay, provides a flashing light which is fastened to a bicycle wheel.
A known form of lighted pedal is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,976 to MacMahon, which projects a light off of the sides of the pedal, perpendicular to the frame, and hence the motion, of the bicycle. Certainly, any number of circuits are known which provide a flashing mechanism for lights, as well as circuits which provide for a time-out mechanism, i.e., one that allows the circuit to operate for a predetermined amount of time once the circuit has been shut off.
Although the aforementioned devices are operable for their intended purposes, they still have a number of shortcomings which the instant invention seeks to overcome.